Question Want to refresh my PC on the cheap, how does this sound?

[AustyPosty]

Hi all, first post on here. I want to refresh the PC i built in 2014. Used to be a beast. Its a 980ti, intel i7 4790k, 16 gigs of gddr3 ram(motherboard doesn't support 4 or 5 sadly) and a MSI z97 gaming 5 motherboard. I want to refresh the PC on the cheap, I still play games just alot less than I used to. I know next to nothing about modern PC parts, my knowledge quite literally is stuck in 2014. My objective for this refresh is stay under 500 dollars, and be able to run most modern games at ultra/high at 60fps at 1080p.


Upon some really bare bones research, I could be horribly wrong, but I was thinking of picking up the msi gaming 4060 and an intel i3 12100f. Would this setup be an upgrade over my current set up? would it be able to play modern games at ultra/high at 1080p 60fps? Will the graphics card and CPU even work with my motherboard? Thanks in advance.

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[daveybrat]

The RTX 4060 would be a nice upgrade but unfortunately the 12100f is a socket 1700 cpu and is not compatible with your older motherboard. You'd have to also upgrade the motherboard and ram (DDR4/5).

Also if you upgrade the cpu then shoot a little higher than an i3. Go with an Intel i5 or a Ryzen 5 cpu.

 

[Tech Junky]

Pcpartpicker.com is your friend for piecing together a system. Then you can hunt for the parts on secondhand sites for keeping it cheap.

There are a ton of deals on AMD right now though through microcenter and they have a build tool as well.

If you're on the ten year refresh cycle it would be best to look at DDR 5 mobos as they should be valid for awhile. There are some combo deals for mobo/RAM/CPU around the $300 mark but, they're DDR 4 but, would put you in a good enough spot for using a 4060.

 

[manly]

Welcome to the forums.

After ten years, it's unlikely to be a refresh but rather planning for a full build.

The GeForce RTX 4060 8GB is about $300? That's a bitter pill. Definitely consider used graphics cards or waiting for Intel Battlemage.

LTT suggests you can build something capable around Zen 3 on a tight budget (pardon clickbait title and ludicrous grin lol):

 

[AustyPosty]

Welcome to the forums.

After ten years, it's unlikely to be a refresh but rather planning for a full build.

The GeForce RTX 4060 8GB is about $300? That's a bitter pill. Definitely consider used graphics cards or waiting for Intel Battlemage.

LTT suggests you can build something capable around Zen 3 on a tight budget (pardon clickbait title and ludicrous grin lol):

is there a good place for used PC parts?

 

[AustyPosty]

The RTX 4060 would be a nice upgrade but unfortunately the 12100f is a socket 1700 cpu and is not compatible with your older motherboard. You'd have to also upgrade the motherboard and ram (DDR4/5).

Also if you upgrade the cpu then shoot a little higher than an i3. Go with an Intel i5 or a Ryzen 5 cpu.

Would it even be worth getting a new GPU if I stick to the current CPU I have?

 

[manly]

is there a good place for used PC parts?

I almost never buy used parts, but there are plenty in the U.S. Enthusiasts upgrade regularly, and sometimes they have older components to get rid of. LTT covers it briefly in the video; eBay doesn't have the best prices but selection is great and you have buyer protection.
For better deals, you can consider trading forums (like here) or buy locally but there is some risk going that route.

Would it even be worth getting a new GPU if I stick to the current CPU I have?

short answer is no because the 980 Ti was such a beast when you bought it. Something like a used RTX 3060 Ti or Radeon RX 6700 XT would be a decent upgrade. BUT those graphics cards are probably not cheap enough and you'd be CPU bottlenecked.

 

[AustyPosty]

I almost never buy used parts, but there are plenty in the U.S. Enthusiasts upgrade regularly, and sometimes they have older components to get rid of. LTT covers it briefly in the video; eBay doesn't have the best prices but selection is great and you have buyer protection.
For better deals, you can consider trading forums (like here) or buy locally but there is some risk going that route.


short answer is no because the 980 Ti was such a beast when you bought it. Something like a used RTX 3060 Ti or Radeon RX 6700 XT would be a decent upgrade. BUT those graphics cards are probably not cheap enough and you'd be CPU bottlenecked.

So it sounds like I need a new MB, GPU and CPU… practically a new build. I’m probably just gonna stick to what I have. I wanted to upgrade to play helldivers 2 but it just doesn’t seem worth 500+ dollars just to play that.

 

[CropDuster]

So it sounds like I need a new MB, GPU and CPU… practically a new build. I’m probably just gonna stick to what I have. I wanted to upgrade to play helldivers 2 but it just doesn’t seem worth 500+ dollars just to play that.

Min requirements according to Steam are 4790k, 1050ti, and 8GB RAM. 980ti should be around a 1060/1070 unless there is some other reason I'm not aware that it wouldn't be compatible.